MESSAGES
We are now entering the Thanksgiving season. You know, that time of year when families come together to watch football games, talk about sports and world events, and commit the sin of gluttony over a huge turkey dinner followed by a chaser of pumpkin pie. Soon after the meal, they lie down and take a nap. Upon awaking they clothe the kids, pack the car, say good-bye, and head on out to their own abode.
Soon, people throughout America will be celebrating what has come to be known as Thanksgiving Day. It began in the 1600's after the Pilgrims of the Mayflower settled in Massachusetts Bay. They gathered together and gave thanks to God for His divine goodness and it has been celebrated ever since.
To many people it's a day of much giving, but very little thanking. Their thinking is somewhat like this:
I gave my family my presence. I gave my eyes the enjoyment of watching football. I gave my mouth the satisfaction of talking and my ears the pleasure of listening to me. I gave my stomach a delicious turkey with dressing, mashed potatoes cranberries, pumpkin pie . and an ache. And I gave my body a desperately needed nap due to exhausting myself by all my vigorous acts of giving. Yep! There sure was a lot of giving, and I'm thankful that I was able to give it all to me.
That's not what Thanksgiving Day is all about, but for many people that pretty much sums it up.
What amazes me is that God's blessings come to both the righteous and unrighteous, to both the good and the wicked, to the Billy Graham's of the world as well as the Charles Manson's of the world. Jesus said in Matthew 5, "For He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust."
Abraham Lincoln once wrote of Thanksgiving, "It has seemed to me fit and proper that the gifts of God should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged with one heart and voice by the whole American people." Tragically, this is not the case today. The last thing many people think about is giving thanks to God. They don't thank their Divine Creator because they don't know about Him, nor do they care to know Him. In the United States He's been kicked out of just about every segment of society to include schools, government, and even many churches.
The last thing many people think about, at this time of year, is giving thanks to God. Why is that? Might I suggest it is because we live in a society that has an "I" problem. Their attitude is: "I'm the captain of my ship! I'm the master of my soul! I determine my destiny! I have what I have because I've worked long and hard for it." I commend you for your hard work, but if it weren't for the grace of God you would have nothing. I would have nothing.
I'm reminded of the story in Luke 17 where ten lepers were healed by Christ. We read that only one of the ten returned to the Lord to thank Him. Verse 16 of Luke 17 tells us that he, " fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks" Does that speak of us? I hope so!
Giving thanks to God is something that we should never stop doing. For the Christian, every day is to be a Thanksgiving Day. The Apostle Paul encourages us in Ephesians 5:20 to, "give thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." How are we to say thanks to the Lord?
We say thanks by giving thanks. We are to recognize and accept all of God's blessings. Paul reminds us that it's, "By the grace of God I am what I am."
We say thanks by giving thanks always in all things. Just as an evergreen tree is always green despite the changes in the weather, so our lives should be the same. Our lives are to be characterized by an enduring thankfulness that is unaffected by the changes around us. During the heat of difficulty, or the chill of adversity, we should be standing "evergreen", always thankful to God, regardless of the things that surround us.
Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Anyone can be thankful for the sunshine, but it takes God in our lives to be thankful for the storms. When work is the pits, or the home front is strenuous, we're to give thanks to God. We, as Christian's, can thank God, not for the difficult time, but for the fact that we're not going through it alone. God is with us. When we give thanks to God in spite of our circumstances, the devil is defeated, God is glorified, and our burdens are turned into blessings.
We say thanks by giving thanks always for all things to God. God is the source of all our blessings. Too often we are content with enjoying the gifts, and we forget the Giver. We're not to be like the child on Christmas morning, tearing open his gift, and forgetting to thank the one who gave it to him.
We say thanks by giving thanks always for all things to God in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through Christ that we have access to God, and are able to thank Him. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 1 that all spiritual blessings come from Jesus Christ. Without the Lord we have nothing.
Thanksgiving is possible only for those who take the time to remember. The word thank and think go hand-in-hand. If we would take the time to think more, we would begin to thank more. What can we thank God for? Lets take a moment and think about it.
We should be thanking God for this great nation. Even though it's decaying in many areas, it is still the greatest nation on earth.
We should be thanking God for our families. It's the family that is the backbone of any nation. It is the family that keeps a nation alive. Thank God for our wife, husband, children, mom, dad, brothers and sisters.
We should be thanking God for the Bible. We have the freedom to read the Bible. Paul tells us that the Bible was, "Written for our learning so that we through the patience and comfort of the Scripture might have hope" (Romans 15:4). We need to prize the Bible, use the Bible frequently, follow the Bibles teachings, love the Bibles laws, abide by the Bibles principles, and faithfully serve the Bibles Christ.
We should be thanking God for the church. Problems are great in this country, but we still have the freedom to gather and worship God without the fear of soldiers coming and throwing us in jail. Jesus says of His church, "The gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). Socialism, communism, atheism, humanism, or liberalism cannot and will not destroy the church. However, let us never take this blessing for granted.
We should be thanking God for His love, mercy and grace. The Bible tells us that He loves us with an "everlasting love"; that His "mercies are new every morning"; and that His "grace is always sufficient."
We should be thanking God for the cross. It's through the cross that we receive forgiveness of sin and the hope of salvation. It's through the action of Christ on the cross that gives meaning to life. I believe one of the biggest reasons we don't thank God for His blessings is because we've never thanked Him for our own salvation. Many Christian's have such an irreverent and flippant attitude about their salvation. They don't understand what salvation is, what it cost God to give it to us, and what it cost us to receive it. It cost God His Son Jesus Christ. It cost us our sin.
We should be thanking God for heaven. Heaven is promised to those who come to know Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. In heaven we shall praise and give thanks to God completely and continuously.
I personally want to thank God for you men and women in law enforcement and the fire service. I know the work that you do, and I thank you for your willingness and faithfulness to your professions. Because of you, my family and I are able to rest better at night, knowing that you're on watch.
We have so much to be thankful for.
What a sad commentary that many Christian's will accept God's love, mercy, and grace; His food, sunshine, and air; the family and friends he gives them; the jobs He furnishes for them, and the pleasures He provides for them, but they never thank Him for it.
Thanksgiving is good, but thanksliving is better. We're not to just give thanks, but we are to live thankfully. The Bible says we are to, "do all things as unto the Lord." As we do, we are showing and giving thanks to the Lord, not only on Thanksgiving Day, but everyday of our life.
Are we like the nine lepers who accepted the gift from Jesus, but refused to give Him thanks. Or are we like the one who returned to say - thank you. We are never to take God's blessings for granted, because when we do, that's when we fail to thank Him. It has been said, "An unthankful heart is fertile soil for all kinds of sin." Let us remember the words of Paul in Romans 1, " ....although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools " Thanking God daily causes us to keep our eyes on Him, and helps to prevent us from falling into sin. Let us each be like the one man who returned to the Lord. Let us each, with a loud voice glorify God, falling on our face before His feet, and give Him thanks for all He has done for us.
May God watch over you and keep you safe as you continue to do the work He has called you to do. God bless you, and have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.
God bless you,
Pastor Steve |
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